These are challenging times all around, and especially scary and daunting for many of our local neighbors, as well as folks in our trad music/dance diaspora. We miss you and are sending dance love!
To sustain our collective spirits, we’re sharing some of the joyful things we encounter. Here’s the first installment!
Dance Music: Benjamin Foss is a multi-instrumentalist and luthier who plays in the All Comers Band, has played for BFS Outreach Programs, and is a stellar dancer. Check out this exuberant collection of tunes that just make you want to whirl around your living room. Here’s what Ben says: “I was inspired by the time alone to record an album of some of my favorite New England tunes, and I just released it! You can stream it for free (or purchase it if you wish!) over on Bandcamp here: http://benjamin-foss.bandcamp.com/album/the-old-favorite”
Dance in Schools: David Millstone has called for our contras, is past president of Country Dance & Song Society (BFS is an affiliate member of CDSS), and serves as a trusted advisor to the BFS board. He says, “I just watched an engaging film that others might enjoy. PS Dance! Dance Education in Public Schools is a 53-minute documentary about dance classes in the New York City public schools. (…) You’ll see assumptions and goals that feel familiar to all of us. Throughout we are told– by teachers and by the many students who are interviewed– that dance is an important part of being human, a way to develop individual self-discipline as well as a way of respecting and connecting with others.” Watch it on Kanopy.com through your local public library or via this PBS station. Here’s a preview: